Today’s rental environment is very competitive and rental companies must streamline their rental processes as much as possible to continue to grow and compete. With today’s software advances, many things are possible. It’s a matter of deciding what is necessary and what you can and can’t afford to do. In this article, we will focus on some features to help the modern rental company streamline their rental processes.
Consolidating systems. Whether your rental package offers operational and accounting needs in a single package or can seamlessly integrate with many business-critical applications, visibility and decision making becomes much easier when the data is centrally located and consistent. It is also very important to include any outside data sources such as vehicle and unit based telemetry, inspection, certification, fuel cards, or any other systems that support your rental operation. An experienced software partner can build integrations to display and integrate any pertinent data into your operational package. No more worrying about missing chargebacks or fuel charges ever again. This is a critical advantage for your larger metered-type equipment, allowing you to more accurately bill your customers for usage while at the same time being more proactive with your maintenance schedules, minimizing downtime and disruption to your clients.
Most operational software providers are now offering mobile applications with many functions to help streamline your business. From mobile receipt and dispatch activities for delivery drivers, to CRM and inventory availability capabilities for salespeople, to allowing repair technicians to schedule, complete, and analyze unit repair information from any connected smart device, these mobile capabilities can streamline the endless paper trails and shared Excel spreadsheets. The range of options available vary by provider, but putting more power into the hands of your workers, and in some cases your customers, provides an amazing opportunity to eliminate inefficient communication channels and ditch error-prone paper processes.
One of the most important considerations for streamlining your rental processes is leveraging all the data that has been collected into actionable decision making data. Each business has its own key performance indictors (KPIs) used to evaluate factors critical to their businesses success. Some questions to ask yourself: Does your reporting provide insight to the current state of your business? Can you spot trends quickly and easily? Is your key reporting brief or are you wading through pages of reports every day, compiling results throughout the month? Do you want to view your company’s performance from multiple angles? Information is gathered daily, so use this information to your company’s advantage.
Operators should determine what it is they want to accomplish and choose the management software for their specific needs, linking all business processes, from equipment management and resource planning to reporting and billing…everything needed to make better decisions, improve service and in the end, produce a better bottom line.
It is important to know what your objectives are. You want to make sure your choice will get you your desired outcome.
